The school’s second-largest alumni base is in the Dallas-Forth Worth area

In the days leading up to this past Saturday’s Conference USA title game, it became blatantly clear Louisiana Tech — win or lose — had zeroed in on the Heart of Dallas Bowl.

But after listening to comments from Tech athletic director Tommy McClelland during Sunday’s teleconference, it was evident Tech made Dallas a priority long before the season even started.

“I would say it predates probably even being bowl eligible, but obviously as it progressed along the system, that was where our eyes were focused and that's where we landed, so we're very blessed about that,” McClelland said.

With the addition of new bowls and tie-ins, Conference USA entered the year with five destinations — New Mexico, Boca Raton, Hawaii, Bahamas or Dallas.

Most national experts put Marshall in the Heart of Dallas Bowl last week as they assumed the Thundering Herd would make that their No. 1 choice as C-USA’s top team.

Instead, Marshall opted for Boca Raton since a majority of the team hails from Florida.

That opened the door for Dallas, which was what Tech officials hoped for the past year.

Couple that with the fact that 73 players on Tech’s roster are from either Louisiana or Texas, and it was a no-brainer.

“We're obviously disappointed that we didn't win the championship, but this is where we wanted to be all along, and we're there, and I think our fan base feels the same way,” McClelland said.

The interest was mutual.

Brant Ringler, the executive director of the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl, was in Ruston on several occasions this year to watch Tech play. He also called McClelland one of the up-and-coming athletic directors in the country.

“Tommy has been very opened-arm with us in showing us his team and facilities and all the growth they have going on,” Ringler said. “Very progressive with the package he sent us to say ‘hey, this is what Louisiana Tech is all about.’”

McClelland’s pitch wasn’t limited to Tech’s product on the field. He also used the idea of putting bodies in seats, something bowl committees always like to hear.

“Our second-largest alumni base is in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and I think that's huge for us, but not only that, our largest fan, alumni base is in the Shreveport-Bossier area, which is only about a (three) hour drive from the Cotton Bowl,” McClelland said. “Those two combined with all of north Louisiana puts us in position to have a great turnout.”

McClelland also pointed to the whole school as a benefactor of the bowl game taking place in Dallas.

Tech president Les Guice and his staff have recruited Dallas-Forth Worth heavily in order to increase enrollment numbers.

“For us to be in this game and be able to spend an entire week in that area, it's huge for our entire university,” McClelland said.